Thanksgiving Staples: A History of Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

Mashed potato and sweet potato recipes are Thanksgiving staples, but what’s the history of these unmissable dishes?

It turns out that neither mashed nor sweet potatoes made an appearance at the first Thanksgiving table in 1621. In the centuries since that historic meal, though, they’ve become essential parts of Thanksgiving dinners.

The History of Thanksgiving Sweet Potatoes

Could you imagine Thanksgiving without sweet potato pie now? The first Thanksgiving most likely had plenty of pumpkin, but not a sweet potato in sight.

The first Thanksgiving took place in Massachusetts, where sweet potatoes don’t typically grow. Native Americans did eat sweet potatoes, but that was mostly in the southern part of the soon-to-be-United States and in South America. It’s much more likely that the guests at that first Thanksgiving table ate ate pumpkin pie instead of sweet potato pie.

Sweet potatoes became part of the Thanksgiving tradition more than 150 years later. The first pumpkin pie was actually developed in France in 1653, and it wasn’t in any American cookbooks until 1796. Sweet potatoes grow very well in the warm, humid south, and pumpkin pie began to showing up alongside (or instead of!) pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving table in the years after that.

Mashed Potatoes: A Thanksgiving History

When it comes to Thanksgiving, sweet potatoes are the star of the show, but no Thanksgiving meal is complete without a big bowl of creamy mashed potatoes.

Mashed potatoes became an American staple in the 1700s. Potatoes are a native North American food that are easy to grow, filling, healthy, and affordable. As far back as 1747, Americans were mashing up potatoes with butter, milk, salt, and cream, and dishing them up on the Thanksgiving table.

Today, Americans continue to enjoy potatoes and sweet potatoes with their families on Thanksgiving each and every year. And we’re quite proud of that! Happy Thanksgiving!

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Recent Comments

MJsays: "These recipes look great, but for the lazy person, I'm going to add my own. It is the stuffed baked potato.
Bake your potato until it is soft, using the oven or microwave.
Cut in half, and scoop out the middle and mash it. Add in about 1 teaspoon of prepared mustard and mash again. It should have a smoother texture. Stuff back into the potato shells. Sprinkle with paprika. If you are doing several, you may wish to re-heat. Voila. Totally simple. Now, I am going to experiment with adding nutritional yeast and soymilk, to see if it comes out a bit cheesy. So pleased to see these recipes."

PotatOHsays: "Susan: that's wonderful! Thank you for your insightful comment and we are so glad that you enjoyed our PotatOHs!"

Susan Hendersonsays: "I love your products. I am a Vegan and potatoes are a wonderful part of my diet. I also find that the growth and harvest of this healthy root crop is actually beneficial to the planet! I won a box of your potatoes last year and used them to the fullest. Thank you, Susan Henderson"

Dorian Shafersays: "I love potatoes & will never stop eating them. There great for lunch, i pop one in microwave. Baked are my ultimate favorite & yes i eat the skin. Red i don't peel for anything. There amazing by themselves. Potatoes are a great source of energy & great anytime !"